Clippers ‘hopeful’ Kawhi Leonard will make season | College News
All indicators level to Kawhi Leonard making his season debut for the Clippers on Saturday evening in opposition to the Atlanta Hawks on the Intuit Dome.
The Clippers listed Leonard as “questionable” for the sport in opposition to the Hawks. Leonard has been out as a result of of a proper knee harm.
The Clippers are “hopeful” that Leonard will play Saturday, however that the group will “assess him in the morning,” in keeping with a particular person with information of the state of affairs not licensed to talk publicly.
When Leonard does return, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue mentioned he can be on a minutes restriction, contemplating he hasn’t performed in an NBA sport in eight months.
Reporters had been instructed final week that Leonard was going to play 5 on 5 with the Clippers’ G League group, the San Diego Clippers, during a three-game Clippers journey that included a win at New Orleans and losses at San Antonio and at Oklahoma City.
Lue mentioned Leonard had been making a lot of progress during his five-on-five follow periods with teammates over the previous few weeks.
Lue mentioned Leonard was “getting more excited” concerning the probabilities of enjoying again quickly.
“He’s been putting in a lot of work to get to this point,” Lue mentioned not too long ago. “So, to do five on five with contact was a huge step for him. Like I said, we got to keep doing what we’re doing right now. The medical staff has been great. He’s great at putting in the work. So now we just got to continue to build off of it.”
Leonard had been in a position to take part in full contact practices, however Lue mentioned his star ahead needed to take more steps to be prepared.
Clippers teammates James Harden, middle left, and Kawhi Leonard share a snigger during a preseason sport in opposition to the Dallas Mavericks on Oct. 14.
(Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)
“He has to play some more five on five,” Lue mentioned final week earlier than the Clippers left on their three-game journey. “So, we got to get all the days we got to get him in, keep stacking the days and see how he fares after that.”
Lue mentioned the five-on-five practices with the San Diego Clippers would give Leonard more time to check his knee.
Leonard was having a very profitable marketing campaign final season, however he started to expertise knee ache on March 31, after a sport in Charlotte. He performed 37 minutes and scored 23 factors.
The Clippers flew to Sacramento for the subsequent sport, however Leonard flew home to relaxation his knee. He didn’t play again within the common season.
Leonard’s final sport was on April 26, in Game 3 of the Western Conference first spherical in opposition to the Mavericks.
He labored out with USA Basketball in Las Vegas in July, however ultimately was despatched home and didn’t play within the Olympics.
Leonard averaged a team-best 23.7 factors per sport final season, 6.1 rebounds and three.5 assists. He shot 52.5% from the sector and 41.7% from three-point vary. He performed in 68 video games, essentially the most he performed in since enjoying in 74 for the Spurs in 2016-17.
The Clippers have a 19-15 document and are the seventh-seeded group within the aggressive Western Conference.
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